once a month blogger

should probably be my new name....

things in chez knit-or-get-off are a bit rough at the moment...basically the economy sucks for all and it hits the arts pretty hard first (or in my opnion as that is what i am the most sensitive too)...I have been working crazy but not at all normal like. One moment there is nothing and the next it is everywhere and every second and too much but you have to do what you have to do....okay so the depressing part is over.

On to the fun and wacky of me!


One of the crazy things i did this past month was attend and judge at COSTUME CON 27. I am a geek and I am proud :)


on the left is my friend and sometime employer, Andrea Schewe. Andrea is a pattern designer for Simplicity as well as an amazing opera singer and just plain cool person. The other Simplicity Judge was unable to attend the Con last minute and since it was only 45 minutes away, I was able to help out with a bit of rearranging and babysitting help from friends and family :) The young lady in the middle in the fab SteamPunk outfit is French Canadian and her Mom is Marie Antoinette (a simplicity pattern). There are some great close-up shots of her dress here and here and here. You should also check out the some of the fabulous Historical Garments (if you are so inclined) especially the late 18th C gown in Hello Kitty Fabric! (I can't make this shit up.)

I ...also...modeled...for Simplicity...ahem. I am sharing this with you since i know there are only , what 5? of you out there? Simplicity and MGM are re-releasing the WIZARD OF OZ patterns as sexy and sassy. They also pushed for more plus-size sexy and sassy costumes...so Andrea created the patterns last year and used me as a dress form (as i am a 22 in their patterns)....so here i am as the Wicked Witch of the West

And here I am with Dorothy and Glinda.

There is video of us on YouTube, but you can find it yourself

Just search "costume con" or "cc27" on flickr and you will see some amazing work.

One of the impressive things about all this weekend was that many many many of these people are not costumers in real life - more like lawyers, and teachers, and engineers and employees of state...just with a serious love of costume, costume history, maybe comic books and anime too!

that was just the first weekend in May - there is always more too tell...just need to get to the telling

Spring Cleaning

i know, i know - another month has gone by and i haven't blogged.

It isn't that i don't want to - it is just that there doesn't seem like there is much of anything to share. Nothing exciting I guess....i think i am in a bit of a slump.

I was so crazy busy for so long and now everything seems to be in a big long pause...and the work is not coming in as regularly as i would have liked ...but that means i have time to take on this disaster:

and make it look like this:

It may not seem perfectly clean - but there has been more labeling and organization going on which *is* making it easier for me to use my space again.

One of the things i seem to be taking on is bridal alterations. It is that season after all!

And i spend alot more time with Max. He is talking so much! And he is a dancing cheesehead :)


I really need to take some pictures of the items i have been working on - a sweater for Max, more crocheted toys, and a gift for my friend Jess.

One of the new and crazy things in my life is the time and energy that I am putting into a possible career change. It would be a huge change...not theatre at all. I think the last 6 years fried me a bit. I am loving the new groups that I am working for, but I have lived this dream for almost 20 years, why not live another?

do you love fabric?

well i love fabric...and Fabric.com has realized how much i like fabric and how much i like to order fabric from them sooooooo

this means that any of my readers will get $5.00 off their next order between today and March 25th (one week only!!!)

all you need is the special code....

oh you want the special code? Okay it is:

blogknitorget

just type that into the promo box at check out and you will get $5 off your total purchase - whatever the total. And while you are at it sign, up for their emails - they have some really good deals.

They have bridal and cottons and patterns and notions and all sorts of things - also great with the shipping and great with the returns if need be. (and they are in MARIETTA, Georgia so how could i not like them?)

I think i will use mine to buy this pattern.

gratuitous pic of Fritz and Max on the Mall:

No political affiliation elephant (long lost item 2)

Pattern: Henri the Elephant from CROCHET DESIGN FOR KIDS by Lucinda Guy
Yarn: Rowan Pure Wool DK in Damson 030 (2 balls), Lavendar 039, Quarry 035, and Cypress 007
Hook: E
extras: buttons for the stars
changes: no fringe on blanket or tail

I wasn't paying attention when making the belly section and made it too long so there was a little tummy tuck action, but you can't see that so you wouldn't know anything about it:)

And since i made him this past october or september - i have to name the no political affiliation elephant as too many people assumed that he was representing a certain political party that i am not a part of. Really? He's purple....maybe follows the path of the purplre Tele-tubby - so not that KIND of elephant :)

Btw - I really love this book. I am currently making the MILO Sweater and i am forcing my mom offered to crochet the MARCEL THE SNAIL TOP for Maxim too.


And in case you have forgotten what he looks like, here he is in snow from January:

under construction

No i will not let this lag another two months - heck not even a week - but i am trying a few new things with the blog new header and background - i just have to re-load the illustrator on the computer before i can do anything :)

2

2 years since my dad'd passing
2 weeks until Max's 2nd birthday
2 shows i am designing in
2 different states
2 weeks until they both begin tech
2 weeks since one of my best friends went into the hospital for chemo
2 days a week at the store
2 fat kitties on the couch
2 days a week in german class
2 very important men (one big, one small) in my life

2 many projects on the needles and under the sewing machine
2 much time spent on facebook

long lost item 1

There has been some crocheting here and i cannot believe that i NEVER posted about it. Really!


Pattern: Wisteria Necklace, book - Colinette Arboretum
Yarn: Colinette Tao Silk
Hook: US C (2.75)
started and finished: November 29, 2008
changes to pattern: use needle and thread to sew flowers together rather than silk yarn - too slippery otherwise.

crazy? right? that i forgot to blog about it - it has been on my flickr account forever, so you might have seen it already but maybe you haven't.

This was made for one of our Sundays in the Salon at Woolwinders. Actually - it was my freedom Sunday - the last day that i was officially on the books as Costume Shop Manager at ISI.

In other news, i finally went down to the Goethe Institute to get more information about language courses and to see where i rank. Basically, I am still where i was - B2 level (some international rating system) - a bit better than i thought considering it was a written test and that means GRAMMAR!!!!!!!!!! So, hopefully I will be taking a class beginning in February - but that depends on sooooo many other things.....